Ore-amalgamator.



PATENTED JAN. 27, 1903.

J. E. SUTPHEN.

ORE AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20, 1902.

H0 MODEL.

Wz'fnesses.

sure *ra rns JOHN E. SUTPHEN, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NEWTONREDUCTION COMPANY, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ORE-AMALGAIVIATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,161, dated January27, 19

Application filed March 20. 1902. Serial No. 99,150- (No model.)

To all wlwnt may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. SUTPHEN,acitizen of the United States,residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Ore- Amalgamator, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in amalgamating-machines in whichthe gold and silver bearing materials are brought into intimate contactwith mercury by mechanical movement in conjunction with the particularconstruction of the apparatus therefor; and the objects of myimprovement are, first, to provide an amalgamator adapted to thoroughlyand economically extract the gold and silver from ores and materialscontaining those metals; second, to afford facilities for a continuousfeed and discharge of the material subjected to the operation of themercury upon the gold and silver for the extraction of such metals fromsuch material as it passes through such am algamator, and, third, toreduce or counteract the tendency of the mercury to flour and be carriedoff with the discharging material and become foul or clogged withforeign substances, and thereby inoperative as the active agent ofamalgamation. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l is a plan view with part ofthe cover broken away; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section of thedevice shown in Fig. 1, taken on the axial line of the cylinder; Fig. 3,a vertical cross-section taken on the line 00 so of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 avertical cross-section taken on the line y y of Fig. 2.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As illustrated in the drawings, A B represent an outer shell or cylindersupported on plates or foundations Q Q, preferably constructed of theupper portion A, detachable from the lower portion B, so that it may belifted back on hinges D, giving access when open to all the containedapparatus and to the contents of the lower portion B. The upper portionof this shell or cylinder is provided with flange a, carrying groove 1),and the lower portion is provided with similar flange a, provided withgroove b, one of which grooves will carry packing c, and when closedsaid flanges, grooves, and packing meet, and the shell or cylinder ismade tight and secure by bolts or screws I do not wish to confine myselfto the illustrated method of making the two portions of the cylindertight, as any usual known and suitable method may be employed. Thecylinder is further provided with hand-holes C, securely closed byhandhole covers C, through which access may be had to the interior ofthe shell or cylinder when it is desired to do so without drawing downthe contents below the opening-line at flanges a and a, for whichdrawing down provision, however, is made through outlet N. The heads ofthe shell or cylinder are provided with journals E and stuffing-boxes eto carry the shaft F, provided with driving-pulley F and loose pulley FFixed to this driving-pulley F are arms G, carrying paddles H, whichpaddles are provided with longitudinal cups h h, and such arms andpaddles are preferably provided in two or more sections, with the armsof each section fixed at a different angle on the shaft from the arms ofthe other sec tion or sections, all arranged to revolve within saidshell or cylinder, said paddles H traveling near the inner surface ofsuch shell or cylinder. Within the arms G G are provided arms I I,swinging loose on shaft F, carrying float K at the upper end of saidarms I I and carrying silver plate 2' at the lower endof the arms I I,which arms are held in a practically perpendicular position by thegreater weight of said silver plate v. over said float K and said armsplaying loosely on shaft F. Said arms I I are constructed of a length topermit paddles H to revolve around them and are to occur within eachsection of paddles H, carried by arms Gr G.

L represents a silver plate lining a lower section of the whole lengthof the shell or cylinder A B.

M represents a feed-pipe through which materials to be treated may beforced into the amalgamator through opening m, and P is an openingthrough which said materials or the waste thereof may be discharged byreason of pressure at the point of feed and agitation from revolution ofpaddles H. I

N illustrates an opening where the materials may be drawn off to a pointbelow the opening-line of the machine when it is desired to open thesame or may be drawn off down to the mercury-When it is desired to cleanup the result of work done, and 0 represents an opening where themercury may be drawn off. The introduction of mercury into the machinemay be through the feed-pipe M and opening m, or through the hand-holesC, or when the machine is opened.

When the amalgamator is in operation, the ore, sand, or other gold andsilver bearing material, reduced to a powder and mixed with a suitableamount of water and with other substances, if desired, is chargedthrough the feed-pipe M, being forced by pressure, preferably ofgravity, into the cylinder A B, wherein a suitable quantity of mercuryhas been placed. Such mercury being of greater specific gravity than thematerials to be treated rests in the lower portion of the cylinder,which lower portion is preferably lined with a sheet of silver L,between which silver and mercury there is such action as tends to keepthe mercury from becoming foul and inoperative through the absorption offoreign substances. The use of such silver lining may be unnecessary inthe case of some ores and materials; but in most cases it is desired,together with the silver plates i, affixed to the float-arms I I, andwhich platet'assists in said beneficial action on the mercury, and inconnection with the use of these silver plates I prefer the cylinder andpaddles to be of Wood, though any material suitable for suchconstruction may be used. When said cylinder containing mercury, asabove set forth, is charged through said feed-pipe with the materials tobe treated, the paddles H H, carried by arms G G, are revolved throughthe material,

and as each paddle reaches the lower swing of its revolution it passesthrough the mercury and by the longitudinal cups h 72 dips up a portionof the mercury and carries it along on its upward swing until the paddlereaches such position that the mercury discharges from said longitudinalcups by reason of gravity. As the mercury is discharged at the variouspositions through the material it by gravity passes down through thematerial, comingin contact with the different particles of gold andsilver, amalgamating with them, and carrying the gold and silver thustaken up down into the mass of mercury at the bottom, to again and againmakeits passage as described, carried up by the longitudinal cups in thepaddles and descending by gravity through the material and coming infrequent contact with the silver plates 2' z and L. During the actiondescribed the floats K, with their opposite plates 2', steady thematerial and prevent violent agitation, jar, and concussion, thestirring of the material and distribution through the same of themercury being accomplished without flouring the mercury, while at thesame time its distribution is thorough, and an unusually largepercentage of the gold and silver, together with the finelydividedparticles and flour-gold which so often escaped in previously-usedamalgamators, is recovered. The operation of the amalgamator is madecontinuous by the pressure, regulated to suit the conditions, constantlyforcing the material in at the feed-opening and causing it to overflowat the discharge-opening P, to reach which it has to pass the wholelength and breadth of the amalgamator and is submitted to the action ofthe various paddles and the constantly-falling mercury.

l/Vhat I claim is In an amalgamator, the combination of a stationarycylinder or shell having paddles arranged to revolve therein adapted topass through mercury contained in the lower part of the cylinder orshell and carry it up to various points of discharge through thematerial being treated, with arms swinging loosely from a shaft throughsuch cylinder or shell and carrying at the upper end of such arms afloat and at the lower end thereof a silver plate adapted to preventviolent agitation, jar and concussion of the material and the mercuryand for said silver plates to come in contact with the mercury,substantially as shown and described. I

JOHN E. SUTPHEN. Witnesses:

MARY P. ADAMS, GAYLORD LOGAN.

